Local Runners Survive Boston Marathon

Okemos High School graduate Erin Hulliberger and her friend planned on celebrating her second Boston marathon well into the night, but her excitement turned to confusion only an hour after she crossed the finish line.

"We heard the explosion go off, and we kind of looked at each other and said wow that kind of sounded like a bomb. We really hope that that wasn't a bomb. But we were like maybe it was a truck or they have several stages at the finish line. And so we hoped that was actually what it was," said Hulliberger via phone.

But it soon became clear that something terrible had happened when she and her friend exited the finisher's tent.

"We saw a number of police vehicles and people sort of coming from the finish line and they were crying... that's when we realized something had happened, said Hulliberger.

Hulliberger and her friend rushed away from the scene and walked the two miles back to their hotel.

Laingsburg resident Tim Stewart also finished the marathon and met up with his family, before the explosions.

"We got out of the downtown area right before the finish line about 20 minutes before the blasts went off. We were on the subway. We went two stops. We were still in the downtown area when they stopped the train and made all of us get off."

And back home in Michigan... friends waited to hear from their loved ones. Kristen Furseth was trilled to get a call from her friend who was refereeing the race.

"He called me at about 4:30 and said he was okay. I told him to put that on his Facebook page so we all wouldn't worry," said Furseth.

The families and friends of these Michigan Runners are grateful that they will be coming home soon.

"We all just feel really, really lucky that we were not affected. We feel really sad for anyone who was hurt or injured or affected in any way. I think that's how most people there," said Hulliberger.

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Amanda joined WILX as the morning reporter in December 2012. She's up early covering everything from blizzards to breaking news, so you in be informed before you head out in the morning. She is a Pittsburgh native and Indiana University grad who is excited to get to know the city and people of Lansing!